Who will win Kentucky basketball vs Tennessee in SEC showdown today? Our expert prediction

Posted by author February 11, 2025 Basketball

Kentucky basketball hosts Tennessee at Rupp Arena on Tuesday night, with the Cats seeking a regular-season sweep.
Tennessee is on a three-game winning streak since the five-point home loss to UK last month.
The Volunteers lead Division I in both field-goal percentage defense and 3-point percentage defense.

LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball was without two starters the last time it faced Tennessee. That didn’t end up hampering the Wildcats, as they left Thompson-Boling Arena with a 78-73 win on Jan. 28.

Both of UK’s injured starters, point guard Lamont Butler and forward Andrew Carr, likely should be available tonight, when Tennessee arrives at Rupp Arena for a regular-season rematch. Butler didn’t play in the previous contest, while Carr came off the bench and contributed two minutes without tallying a stat.

But now another member of the Wildcats’ starting five might be sidelined: guard Jaxson Robinson. During coach Mark Pope‘s weekly radio show Monday night, he said Robinson, who injured his wrist during a practice collision last week, isn’t expected to take the floor against the Vols.

“But we’ll kind of see how things pan out tomorrow (come) game time,” Pope said.

Tennessee hasn’t lost since that Jan. 28 setback, felling Florida, Missouri and Oklahoma in its past three outings.

The Vols haven’t changed their makeup, either: They still boast the best unit in Division I in field-goal percentage defense (36.2) and 3-point percentage defense (26.6) and are No. 1 in the SEC in scoring defense (59.3 points per game).

Here’s what to know about Kentucky’s SEC matchup against Tennessee today in Lexington:

The contest between the Wildcats and Volunteers will air on ESPN. You can stream ESPN on Fubo, which offers a free trial.

Authenticated subscribers can access ESPN via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.

UK and Tennessee are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. today.

Oct. 23: exhibition vs. Kentucky Wesleyan ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 123, Kentucky Wesleyan 52
Oct. 29: exhibition vs. Minnesota State Mankato ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 98, Minnesota State Mankato 67
Nov. 4: vs. Wright State (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 103, Wright State 62
Nov. 9: vs. Bucknell (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 100, Bucknell 72
Nov. 12: vs. Duke (Champions Classic; State Farm Arena, Atlanta) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 77, Duke 72
Nov. 19: vs. Lipscomb, (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 97, Lipscomb 68
Nov. 22: vs. Jackson State (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 108, Jackson State 59
Nov. 26: vs. Western Kentucky (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 87, Western Kentucky 68
Nov. 29: vs. Georgia State (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 105, Georgia State 76
Dec. 3: at Clemson (ACC/SEC Challenge) ∣ SCORE: Clemson 70, Kentucky 66
Dec. 7: vs. Gonzaga (Climate Pledge Arena; Seattle) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 90, Gonzaga 89 (OT)
Dec. 11: vs. Colgate (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 78, Colgate 67
Dec. 14: vs. Louisville (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 93, Louisville 85
Dec. 21: vs. Ohio State (CBS Sports Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York) | SCORE: Ohio State 85, Kentucky 65
Dec. 31: vs. Brown (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 88, Brown 54
Jan. 4: vs. Florida (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 106, Florida 100
Jan. 7: at Georgia | SCORE: Georgia 82, Kentucky 69
Jan. 11: at Mississippi State | SCORE: Kentucky 95, Mississippi State 90
Jan. 14: vs. Texas A&M (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 81, Texas A&M 69
Jan. 18: vs. Alabama (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Alabama 102, Kentucky 97
Jan. 25: at Vanderbilt | SCORE: Vanderbilt 74, Kentucky 69
Jan. 28: at Tennessee | SCORE: Kentucky 78, Tennessee 73
Feb. 1: vs. Arkansas | SCORE: Arkansas 89, Kentucky 79
Feb. 4: at Ole Miss | SCORE: Ole Miss 98, Kentucky 84
Feb. 8: vs. South Carolina | SCORE: Kentucky 80, South Carolina 57
Feb. 11: vs. Tennessee (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 15: at Texas, 8 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 19: vs. Vanderbilt (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network
Feb. 22: at Alabama, 6 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 26: at Oklahoma, 9 p.m., SEC Network
March 1: vs. Auburn (Rupp Arena), 1/4 p.m., ABC/ESPN
March 4: vs. LSU (Rupp Arena), 7/9 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU
March 8: at Missouri, noon, ESPN/SEC Network

Record: 16-7 (5-5 SEC)

Tennessee 71, Kentucky 68: It’s hard to imagine the Vols shooting much worse from long range against the Wildcats than they did last month. In that five-point home defeat, Tennessee missed 18 of its 24 attempts behind the 3-point line. But the Volunteers have started to hit their stride in that area the past two games, combining to make 19 of their 36 tries — a success rate of 52.8% — in the wins over Missouri and Oklahoma, respectively. The Wildcats potentially missing Robinson, their most consistent scorer outside of fellow guard Otega Oweh, is worrisome for the hosts. Then toss in the revenge factor. And the fact it’s been hard for either side of this bitter border rivalry to capture both halves of the home-and-away regular-season series in recent years (there have been just two sweeps in the past decade, one for each school). UT will sink just enough shots today to earn another regular-season split with UK.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.